Projected No. 1 pick Myles Garrett makes a plea to the Dallas Cowboys to trade up and select him.
Watch https://t.co/ysSdr5rOsq
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 10, 2017
Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett has been universally labeled by draft analysts as the front-runner to be picked first overall by the Browns on April 27, but apparently he has a different fantasy.
In a video published Friday on ESPN.com, Garrett begged Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to make a blockbuster trade with the Browns so he can play for the Cowboys, who have the 28th overall pick coming off a 13-3 season in which quarterback Dak Prescott thrived as a rookie with veteran Tony Romo idle.
Garrett is a native of Arlington, Texas.
“I’m speaking to you, Jerry,” Garrett said. “Mr. [coach Jason] Garrett, make it happen. Dak Prescott is leading our team right now. I need you to take Tony Romo, take a couple picks and give them to Cleveland so you can pick me up. Please. I’d love to play in Dallas. Just make it happen.”
For what it’s worth, Garrett told the Houston Chronicle the Browns are his second favorite team, after his hometown Cowboys.
“They have the No. 1 pick,” he said Friday of the Browns. “I want to be known as the best.”
According to Houston TV Station FOX 26, Garrett also said Thursday he would love to play for the Browns, who set a franchise record for losses last season and finished 1-15.
“Definitely,” Garrett said in a video by FOX 26. “People might say they’re this, they’re that or I made a comment about cold weather and they kind of put it toward Cleveland. It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll play wherever they put me, and it’s about your mindset. If you go out there with a mindset that you’re going to turn things around, you can make that contagious and people start to believe in it, you can turn into a winning program wherever you go.”
.@AggieFootball DE Myles Garrett would love to play for the @Browns. pic.twitter.com/Sj3W2tqbnx
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 10, 2017
In late December, when it was still uncertain whether the Browns or San Francisco 49ers would have the No. 1 overall pick, Garrett told the Houston Chronicle he would not want to play in a cold-weather city.
“Doesn’t matter [which team gets the No. 1 overall pick] but I’d like not to go anywhere cold,” Garrett said. “Whoever picks me up, I’m going to try and play my best for, to be the best player on the field at any given time. It doesn’t matter who picks me up, I’m going to try and be a franchise player for them.”
No matter which team picks Garrett on April 27, he doesn’t plan to attend the draft in Philadelphia. He told the Houston Chronicle on Friday he instead wants to watch the draft at home with his friends and family.
It’s not unprecedented for a top pick to stay home on draft day.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston didn’t attend the draft when he was picked No. 1 overall in 2015.